Little Wakering, Essex (†Chelmsford) C.12

Unidentified Bishop (once thought to be St Denis)Nativity, with Ox and Ass

EW Tristram suggested, very tentatively, that this bishop, wearing the rather shallow-crowned mitre typical of some paintings of bishops in 12th century episcopal dress, was St Denis, (patron saint of France and of Paris in particular) “represented seated, holding his head in his lap (?)”¹

I think the photograph at the right is clear enough to show that the figure is not in fact holding his head in his lap, but has it firmly enough on his shoulders. It is not difficult, though, to see how the confusion came about – inverting this photograph, as at the right, with salient details shown in green, will show what might well be mistaken for a face framed by a triangular mitre, with two ‘eyes’ on the lap of the figure’s robe, as if mirroring his mitred head. But what the figure at Little Wakering is holding seems to be, rather less exotically, a book, and there are traces of an episcopal crozier or pastoral staff at the far left. The “severed head” illusion is adventitious, a chimera.

In short, I do not think this bishop is St Denis. He could be almost anyone, but the presence in the opposite window splay of a Nativity, showing a very endearing Ox and Ass looking at the tightly-swaddled Christ Child suggests St Nicholas as one possible candidate, or perhaps St Martin of Tours.

At all events, it is a very ancient painting in an even more ancient church, and even though virtually all the colour has faded to monochrome in the salt air it is certainly worthy of careful preservation. There are many more paintings of saints, and links to their pages, in the table below.